SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
(Read my reflection from 2008)
“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” [Matthew 27:42-43]
He could save Himself, but He chose not to in order to save others.
He’s the one king of Israel who did not place Himself ahead of His subjects, but beneath them.
It was His trust in God that led Him to cross; He had asked God if it were possible to save Him from the cross, but He had decided to accept God’s will [Matthew 26:39].
He was the Son of God, yet He emptied Himself of His glory in order to rescue us [Philippians 2:5-11].

The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! [Matthew 10:24-25]
Jesus knows how people will treat Him, but He also knows how they will treat His followers.
‘If God is real, then why can’t you see Him?’
‘If God loves you, then why isn’t He helping you in this struggle?’
‘If God has changed your heart, why do you still do bad or hurtful things?’
‘If you are God’s child, then why didn’t He answer your prayer?’
Jesus made bold claims about Himself, and this is what they challenged Him on.
We also make bold claims of faith, and this is what people will challenge us on too.

Jesus is God in a body – as unbelievable as it sounds – and He models how God works in the world.
We want miracles, demonstrations of power, proof of existence, but God gives us humility, meekness, self-sacrifice, kindness, generosity, things that make Him look weak and foolish.
Jesus’ followers are to live this way too, and will also look weak and foolish.
God chooses to work through the weak and the foolish, not through the rich or powerful.
And this is what makes Him so compelling, and Jesus’ message so convincing.
Even the centurion at the cross could see this: When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” [Matthew 27:54]
Jesus is worth following, but following Him means going along the same path as Him.
It will not be easy, we will also be mocked, but it will be worth it in the end.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:9-11]

PRAYER:
Lord, You showed us humble, obedient love – and Your were mocked for it. Give me the strength to love and live like You, and to endure the mocking that it evokes.